Why 200 Ghanaians Fled Libya

About two hundred Ghanaians living in Libya have fled the North African country back to Ghana, following continuing violent attacks in that country.

The returnees, mostly men in their mid-thirties, had gone to Libya in search of greener pastures some years ago, but have had to flee the war-torn country to save their lives. Citi News understands that, all the returnees paid their air fare from Libya to Accra. Libya has been without a truly functional central government since the overthrow of Muamar Qaddafi in an uprising in 2011.

One of the returnees in an interview with Citi News stated that, their lives were always at risk whenever they went out to work. “Initially, Libya was a good place to live but now it is very bad. The people there are disturbing us. You cannot even go to the store to buy food. On your way there they may arrest you. They don’t respect the blacks. There is no central government, meaning there is no law. They can even kill you for no reason.

Some of us have been killed,” he stated. Another returnee said the conditions that made Libya an attractive place to work was no longer the case. “The current conditions are not the same as what we came to meet when we arrived there years ago. Young guys can just take weapons and kill you for no reason and they will have no regrets. They pretend to be police officers roaming around with guns. They can just call you and take your money and kill you thereafter. And we know some Ghanaians who have died at the hands of these men,” he said.